Kentucky warbler, Harrison Hills Park, 27 May 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
1 June 2024
This week was “All Peregrines All The Time” with a notable exception.
On Memorial Day Charity Kheshgi and I wanted to see a Kentucky warbler (Geothlypis formosa) so we went to Harrison Hills Park where they breed. It didn’t take long to hear one singing in an extensive thicket along the Pond Trail but we could not see him. We waited patiently for him to appear.
What an elusive bird! We never saw him fly from one end of the thicket to the other though he did it many times. He even flew, unseen, over the trail we were standing on. We must have waited half an hour before we got a glimpse of him in the shadows.
Kentucky warbler, Harrison Hills Park, 27 May 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
And then he perched and sang (photo at top). Ta dah! A Life Bird Photo for Charity.
We also saw an eastern wood-pewee (Contopus virens) building a nest.
Eastern wood-pewee with nesting material, Harrison Hills Park, 27 May 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
She had already decorated the exterior with lichen …
Eastern wood-pewee nest in progress, Harrison Hills Park, 27 May 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
… and was now working on the nest lining. She placed material inside the cup and used her belly to form the interior.
Eastern wood-pewee building nest, Harrison Hills Park, 27 May 2024 (photo by Charity Kheshgi)
Her mate sang “Pee Wee” in the woods nearby.
Birds of the World says the “female often gives a plaintive, two-noted wee-ooo when nest building” but we didn’t hear that sound. She was busy.
If you can’t come to Fledge Watch at Schenley Plaza you might catch a glimpse of the juvenile Pitt peregrines on the National Aviary’s falconcam. Yesterday Bob Mulvihill positioned the camera so we can view as much of the nestrail as possible. When the youngsters are at its furthest end we can see them. (That’s the left side of the nestrail as viewed from Schenley Plaza and top center in the camera image above).
This morning at dawn they waited for a food delivery which must have been dropped off where we couldn’t see it on the near end.
While the male chick, Yellow, spent most of yesterday off camera, the National Aviary adjusted the falconcam to view the female chick (Blue) on the green perch. When she wasn’t preening or snoozing she flapped a lot to exercise her wings. See and hear(!) the flapping in this 2-minute video.
Afternoon slot — 4:30pm to 5:30pm on 5/30, 6/1, 6/2, 6/4
Fledge Watch is weather dependent and will be canceled for rain or thunder. If no one shows up I might stay only 30 minutes, so come at the beginning not at the end. Before you come, check my Events Page for cancellations.
Yesterday evening the smaller of the two Pitt peregrine chicks, “Yellow”(*), jumped up to the nestrail and out of camera view. This sequence from the snapshot camera shows where he went.
Peregrine chick “Yellow” hops up out of camera view, 27 May 2024, 7:06pm
The streaming camera never saw it. Meanwhile the remaining chick, female “Blue”(*), remained on the green perch.
Sometimes she wasn’t visible on the streaming camera but you can see the entire area here on the snapshot page.
In the next couple of days the number of chicks at the nest will fluctuate until both are gone. Don’t worry. They are stepping up to the nestrail — the “runway” — where they’ll learn to fly.
Yellow’s first step happened much sooner than I expected. Fledge Watch might be too late to see him!
(*) Names: Yellow and Blue are temporarily named for the colored tape placed on their USFW bands when they were banded last week. Yellow is the smaller one, likely male. Blue is the larger and definitely female.
Pitt peregrine chicks watch intently, 24 May 2024 (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera)
26 May 2024
Though the Pitt peregrine chicks are turning brown, they still have tufts of down and white pantaloons on their legs. It’s hard to believe that by the end of the week they will ledge walk off the nest and out of camera view. One of them will make his first flight next weekend. The second will follow shortly thereafter.
Yesterday the youngsters spent a lot of time exercising their wings — “Wingercize” — flapping frequently in this snapshot video. The larger chick, female Blue, used the gravel like a runway. It won’t be long before they fly.
Pitt peregrine chicks exercise their wings, 25 May 2024 (photo from the National Aviary snapshot camera)
After the chicks walk out of camera view the best place to see them is from Schenley Plaza. I plan to stop by once a day to check on their progress.
Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch, Schenley Plaza, selected times May 30 to June 3, 2024.
Meet me at the tent at the dates and times below.
Schenley Plaza tent (photo by Kate St. John)
Pitt Peregrine Fledge Watch is a drop-in event to see the Cathedral of Learning peregrine family and watch young birds learn to fly. I’ll have my scope on hand for a zoomed in view of the youngsters exercising their wings.
Where:Schenley Plaza near the tent, pictured above. When: Fledge Watch is weather dependent and will be canceled for rain or thunder. Check the Events page before you come in case of weather cancellation.
NOTE: If no one shows up I might stay only 30 minutes, so come at the beginning not the end.
30 May, 4:30pm to 5:30pm (Thursday)
31 May, 11:30am to 12:30pm (Friday)
1 June, 4:30pm to 5:30pm (Saturday) I’m not available on this date. John English will be there.
2 June, 4:30pm to 5:30pm (Sunday) John English and I will both be there.
3 June, 11:30am to 12:30pm (Monday)
4 June (Tuesday)CANCELED BECAUSE THEY FLEW!
If we’re lucky, here’s what we’ll see:
In 2009 Stephen Tirone filmed the chicks standing on the nest railing and flapping like crazy. Their parents encouraged them by flying back and forth overhead. Then one of the chicks made its first flight — straight out — at the 0:56 second spot.
PGC’s Patti Barber prepares to band one of the Pitt peregrine chicks, 21 May 2024 (photo by Mike Faix, National Aviary)
21 May 2024
This morning two peregrine chicks were banded at the University of Pittsburgh’s Cathedral of Learning by Patti Barber, Endangered Bird Biologist from the PA Game Commission (PGC).
As soon as Patti began collecting the chicks, the parents Carla and Ecco strafed the building to drive her away. Carla herself is banded but this was her first time experiencing it as a mother. She was fierce in protecting her chicks.
Indoors, the chicks were given health checks (they are very healthy!), weighed to determine their sex, and given two leg bands: a black/green color band that can be read through binoculars and a silver USFW band.
Patti Barber displays the band to be used on the larger of the two chicks at the Cathedral of Learning, 21 May 2024 (photo by Aimee Obidzinski, Univ of Pittsburgh)
Patti put colored tape on the silver USFW bands so we can identify the birds by color on the falconcam. The smaller chick is yellow, the larger chick is blue.
Interestingly the larger of the two youngsters (blue) is clearly female, weighing in at over 1000g. The smaller bird (yellow) weighed 730g, just above the borderline that designates males as less than 700g and females as more.
Yellow was officially listed as “sex undetermined” but my guess is that he’s male. The Cathedral of Learning has seen a few male peregrine chicks weighing 710-720g. (Dorothy’s in 2009, 2010 and Morela’s in 2022). We humans won’t know for sure if this bird is male until we see him nest.
Female peregrine chick (Blue) on Banding Day, 21 May 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)Female peregrine chick banded at Cathedral of Learning (blue tape), 21 May 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
In less than half an hour the chicks were back at the nest and their lives returned to normal.
Meanwhile we got a glimpse of the unhatched egg which Patti collected for testing.
Unhatched egg at peregrine nest collected for testing, 21 May 2024 (photo by Kate St. John)
The chicks will grow up rapidly in the next two weeks and leave the camera view by the end of the month.
Stay tuned for the Fledge Watch schedule at Schnenley Plaza at the end of this month and early June.
p.s. A Big Thank You goes out to everyone who made this day possible. (Apologies to anyone I’ve missed in this list.)
The University of Pittsburgh for being such a great peregrine landlord, for publicizing the peregrines, and for hosting the banding.
The PA Game Commission for their commitment to banding the peregrine chicks at the Cathedral of Learning. (Peregrine banding in PA is rare nowadays because the birds are no longer endangered / threatened.)
The National Aviary for broadcasting the Pitt peregrines’ nest from their falconcam and for organizing the banding.
Peregrine chicks at Cathedral of Learning nest, 28 days old, 20 May 2024 (photo from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)
21 May 2024
Yesterday was a big day for the Pitt peregrine chicks. The smaller chick made two new moves: He jumped up on the green perch and he snatched prey from his mother. Today will be even bigger. It’s Banding Day! The event is closed to the public (the room has a very strict occupancy limit!) but you’ll see the start and end on the falconcam.
Big Moves Yesterday: Green perch & Food snatch
Both big moves are shown in this video of snapshots.
video from the National Aviary snaphot camera at Univ of Pittsburgh
Here’s a closer look at the snatching episode as seen on the streaming cam: Carla was about to kill and pluck a chimney swift when the male chick snatched it. Chaos ensued! When Carla couldn’t retrieve it she shouted to Ecco while the other chick begged loudly.
Male peregrine steals incoming prey from Carla. Everyone shouts, 20 May 2024, 17:21 (video from the National Aviary falconcam at Univ of Pittsburgh)
Banding Day Today:
You’ll know when Lead Bander Patti Barber of the Pennsylvania Game Commission goes out on the ledge to retrieve the chicks because you’ll hear Carla and Ecco shouting and the youngsters will huddle at the back of the box.
When the chicks are brought indoors they will receive health checks and leg bands and be returned to the nest in less than half an hour.
Stay tuned later today for banding photos and an update on the event.
In early April WildlifeKate (@katemacrae) introduced us to a pair of Eurasian nuthatches (Sitta europaea) who were remodeling a nestbox she’d provided at Gwyllt Hollow in southern Wales.
When I visit Duck Hollow I expect to see a lot of mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) but that hasn’t been the case lately. Over the winter their numbers were high — anywhere from 10 to 30 — but since late March the count has dropped to 4-7 and all but one is male. Where are the female mallards?
Mallards pair up in autumn in Pennsylvania but don’t begin nesting until mid-April or early May. The burden of nesting rests on the female. She chooses the site, makes the nest, lays the eggs, does all the incubation and is the only parent that cares for the chicks.
As she searches for a nest site she engages in Persistent Quacking. (Did you know that only females make the Quack sound?) Scientists believe she’s very vocal in order to attract nearby predators. If a predator shows up at a potential site, she knows that place is unsafe and moves on.
Birds of the World notes that “Urban Mallards use a variety of additional cover types, including evergreens, ornamental shrubs, vines, gardens, woodpiles, and artificial structures such as docks, boats and buildings.”
Having chosen a densely covered site on the ground near water, she scrapes a depression and pulls in nearby material for the nest. Then she lays one egg per day, as many as 13. She adds her own down or breast feathers to cover the eggs when she takes a break. You can see feathers surrounding her on the nest below.
The first egg laid is first to hatch and others usually follow within 6–10 hours. Most of the eggs hatch during the day (as per Birds of the World). The next morning their mother leads the chicks to water. It’s the safest place to be until they can fly.
This month the males at Duck Hollow are hanging around near the females but won’t take an active role. They look like bachelor groups but they aren’t bachelors.
Have you seen any female mallards lately?
(photos embedded from Wikimedia Commons; click on the captions to see the original)
Eastern cottonwoods (Populus deltoides) rely on the wind for both pollination and seed dispersal. In the spring the male and female trees each produce an inflorescence.
The males produce catkins which drop off the tree when the pollen is gone. The females produce flowers whose seeds are embedded in fluff to carry them away on the wind.
Eastern cottonwood inflorescences: male and female (photos from Wikimedia Commons)
By the time the cottonwoods have gone to seed warbling vireos (Vireo gilvus) have returned to the trees on the shore of Lake Erie. Though the birds look nondescript their song is the sound that fills the air in the parking lot at Magee Marsh in May.
Yesterday at Presque Isle State Park we watched a warbling vireo building a nest in a cottonwood. The nest is a cup that hangs from the fork of two small branches. Both sexes help build it.
In s. Ontario [the region of Lake Erie], nest exteriors fashioned with insect and spider silk and cocoons, paper and string, and bits of birch bark; exterior walls composed of grasses, plant fibers, bark strips, plant down, hair, leaves, fine twigs, lichens, and rootlets. Linings were fine grasses, pine needles, plant fibers, rootlets, feathers, and leaves.
p.s. Here’s a mnemonic to help you remember their song:
The mnemonic of “If I see you, I will seize you, and I’ll squeeze you till you squirt!” is very useful in identifying and remembering this bird’s song.
While easily heard, the Warbling Vireo can be difficult to spot. They tend to perch themselves high in treetops. When they are seen, this common bird is often described as “nondescript”.
